Australian Secret Intelligence Service
The Australian Secret Intelligence Service is the foreign intelligence agency of the Commonwealth of Australia, responsible for gathering, processing, and analysing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence. The service was formed in 1952, however its existence remained secret within much of the government and to the public until 1972. ASIS is a primary entity of the Australian Intelligence Community.
ASIS is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio and has its headquarters in Canberra. Its director-general, currently Kerri Hartland, reports to the minister for foreign affairs. The service is comparable to the CIA and MI6.
History
On 13 May 1952, in a meeting of the Executive Council, Prime Minister Robert Menzies established ASIS by executive order under s. 61 of the Australian constitution, appointing Alfred Deakin Brookes as the first director-general of ASIS. The existence of ASIS remained secret even within the Australian Government until 1972.Its Charter of 15 December 1954 described ASIS's role as 'to obtain and distribute secret intelligence, and to plan for and conduct special operations as may be required'. ASIS was expressly required to "operate outside Australian territory". A Ministerial Directive of 15 August 1958 indicated that its special operations role included conducting "special political action". It also indicated that the organisation would come under the control and supervision of the Minister for External Affairs rather than the Minister for Defence. At the time, ASIS was substantially modelled on the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6. ASIS was at one time referred to as MO9.
On 1 November 1972, the existence of ASIS was sensationally revealed by The Daily Telegraph which ran an exposé of recruitment of ASIS agents from Australian universities for espionage activities in Asia. Soon after The Australian Financial Review published a more in-depth piece on ASIS, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, and the then Joint Intelligence Organisation, Defence Signals Division and Office of National Assessments. It stated that "he ASIS role is to collect and disseminate facts only. It is not supposed to be in the analytical or policy advising business though this is clearly difficult to avoid at times". The Ministerial Statement of 1977 stated that the "main function" of ASIS was to "obtain, by such means and subject to such conditions as are prescribed by the Government, foreign intelligence for the purpose of the protection or promotion of Australia or its interests".
On 21 August 1974, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam established the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security to investigate the country's intelligence agencies. On 25 October 1977, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser publicly announced the existence of ASIS and its functions on a recommendation of the Commission.
In 1992, two reports were prepared on ASIS by officers within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Office of National Assessments for the Secretaries Committee on Intelligence and Security and the National Security Committee. The Richardson Report in June examined the roles and relationships of the collection agencies in the post-Cold War era. The Hollway Report in December examined shortfalls in Australia's foreign intelligence collection. Both reports endorsed the structure and roles of the organisations and commended the performance of ASIS.
The Intelligence Services Act 2001 converted ASIS to a statutory body. The Act set out the functions of ASIS and the limits on those functions. Use of weapons by ASIS were prohibited. Conduct of violent or para-military operations was also curtailed. The Act authorised the responsible minister to issue directions to the agency and required Ministerial authorisation for intelligence collection activities involving Australians, but limited the circumstances in which that could be done. The Act requires the responsible minister to make rules regulating the communication and retention of intelligence information concerning Australian persons, and provides for the establishment of a parliamentary oversight committee, then called the Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO, ASIS and DSD.
The Intelligence Services Amendment Act 2004 removed ISA prohibitions on ASIS operatives carrying firearms and allows ASIS to work with foreign intelligence agencies such as the CIA or MI6 in the planning of paramilitary and violent operations provided ASIS is not involved in the execution of the operations.
Royal Commissions examining ASIS
Three Royal Commissions have examined, among other things, ASIS and its operations: in 1974 and 1983, and in 1994.First Hope Royal Commission
On 21 August 1974, the Whitlam Government appointed Justice Robert Hope to conduct a Royal Commission into the structure of Australian security and intelligence services, the nature and scope of the intelligence required and the machinery for ministerial control, direction and coordination of the security services. The Hope Royal Commission delivered eight reports, four of which were tabled in Parliament on 5 May 1977 and 25 October 1977. Aside from the observation that ASIS was "singularly well run and well managed", the report on ASIS were not released. Results from the other reports included the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979, the establishment of the ONA and the passage of the Office of National Assessments Act 1977.Second Hope Royal Commission
On 17 May 1983, the Hawke Government reappointed Justice Hope to conduct a second Royal Commission into Australia's intelligence agencies. The inquiry was to examine progress in implementing the previous recommendations; arrangements for developing policies, assessing priorities and coordinating activities among the organisations; ministerial and parliamentary accountability; complaints procedures; financial oversight and the agencies' compliance with the law. As with the first Hope Royal Commission, the reports on ASIS and DSD, which included draft legislation on ASIS, were not made public.Samuels and Codd Royal Commission
In response to a Four Corners TV program aired on 21 February 1994, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Gareth Evans announced on 23 February 1994 a "root and branch" review of ASIS. The Government appointed Justice Gordon Samuels and Mr Mike Codd to inquire into the effectiveness and suitability of existing arrangements for control and accountability, organisation and management, protection of sources and methods, and resolution of grievances and complaints. The Royal Commission reported in March 1995.Four Corners reporter Ross Coulthart made allegations regarding intelligence held by ASIS on Australians. He claimed that "ASIS secretly holds tens of thousands of files on Australian citizens, a database completely outside privacy laws". The allegation was investigated and denied by Samuels and Codd, but the Minister did acknowledge that ASIS maintained files. The Minister said: "ASIS does have some files, as one would expect in an organisation of that nature, even though its brief extends to activities outside the country rather than inside. They are essentially of an administrative nature." However, Samuels and Codd did find that certain grievances of the former officers were well founded. They appeared to support the officers' concerns regarding the grievance procedures:
Bearing in mind the context in which the members of ASIS work, it is not surprising that there should develop a culture which sets great store by faithfulness and stoicism and tends to elevate conformity to undue heights and to regard the exercise of authority rather than consultation as the managerial norm.
However, Samuels and Codd observed that the information published in the Four Corners program was "skewed towards the false", that "the level of factual accuracy about operational matters was not high", and, quoting an aphorism, that "what was disturbing was not true and what was true was not disturbing". They concluded that the disclosure of the information was unnecessary and unjustifiable and had damaged the reputation of ASIS and Australia overseas. The commissioners stated that "evidence presented to us of action and reaction in other countries satisfies us that the publication was damaging": They rejected any suggestion that ASIS was unaccountable or "out of control". They said, "its operational management is well structured and its tactical decisions are thoroughly considered and, in major instances, subject to external approval". They recommended that complaints regarding ASIS operations continue to be handled by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security but that staff grievances be handled by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
In addition to their recommendations, Samuels and Codd put forward draft legislation to provide a statutory basis for ASIS and to protect various information from disclosure. The Samuels and Codd Bill, like the bulk of the reports, was not made public.
Activities
Since 2004, ASIS has been running anti-people smuggling operations inside countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.In 2013, intelligence provided by ASIS was crucial to the capture, after a 14-month manhunt, of a rogue soldier from the Afghan National Army, who had killed three Australian soldiers. The joint operation involved ASIS, AGO, the Defence Intelligence Organisation and Australian Signals Directorate, along with Britain's MI6 and Special Air Service, the United States' CIA and National Security Agency, and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.
In 2021, ASIS had deployed a small team to provide security and to help with the evacuation of Australian nationals and the nation's informants during the Kabul airlift in Afghanistan.